By Bay City News Service
OAKLAND — A judge today ordered the man accused of murdering seven people in a shooting rampage at Oakland's Oikos University last April to be treated at the Napa State Hospital in a bid to restore his mental competency to stand trial.
Alameda County Superior Court Judge Carrie Panetta said that based on reports by two psychiatrists who have examined 44-year-old One Goh she "had no other choice but to find him mentally incompetent to stand trial" and suspended legal proceedings against him at a previous hearing three weeks ago.
Panetta said the goal of the treatment for Goh at the Napa State Hospital will be to "progress toward the recovery of his mental competence" so he eventually can stand trial.
Goh, a Korean national who lived in Oakland, currently is being held without bail at Santa Rita Jail in Dublin on seven counts of murder, three counts of attempted murder for allegedly shooting three victims who survived and 10 special-circumstance allegations, including committing murder during a carjacking.
Police said that Goh fled the campus after the April 2 shootings in a car belonging to one of the victims.
He was arrested in Alameda a short time later after he confessed to a Safeway security guard that he had just shot several people, according to police.
Panetta ordered Napa State Hospital officials to administer anti-psychotic medication into Goh involuntarily if he refuses such medication and doctors rule that taking such medication would be in his own best interest.
Goh's lawyer, David Klaus, said Goh "has not been taking good care of himself" and has lost about 60 pounds while he's been in custody.
Goh "is quite skinny and gaunt now" and "has little insight into his situation," Klaus said.
Panetta ordered Goh to return to court on April 29 for a progress report on his treatment and also set a hearing for Feb. 11 to make sure he's been transferred from Santa Rita to the Napa State Hospital because sometimes it takes a long time for authorities to transfer inmates to the mental institution.
Goh is a former student who had left Oikos University voluntarily. Prosecutors have said he appears to have wanted a refund of his tuition, and may have been targeting an administrator who was not present the day of the shooting.
According to a probable cause statement filed in court by Oakland police Officer Robert Trevino, Goh has admitted that he carried out the shootings.
Those killed were students Lydia Sim, 21, of Hayward; Sonam Choedon, 33, of El Cerrito; Grace Kim, 23, of Union City; Doris Chibuko, 40, of San Leandro; Judith Seymour, 53, of San Jose; Tshering Bhutia, 38, of San Francisco; and Katleen Ping, 24, of Oakland, who worked at the school.
In addition to the murder and attempted murder charges, Goh faces 10 special-circumstance allegations that could result in the death penalty if he's convicted.
Seven of those allegations are for committing multiple murders and one each are for committing a murder during a robbery, murder during a carjacking and murder during a kidnapping.
Some family members of the victims in the case have said they think Goh had to be mentally competent in order to plan and carry out the shooting and have alleged that he is taking advantage of the legal system.
But Klaus said Goh isn't avoiding responsibility and most defendants who initially are found to be incompetent to stand trial eventually are restored to competency and prosecuted.
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